‘Supply water to people where borewells have gone dry’

Government will release funds once a plan is submitted: Shalini Rajneesh

Secretary of Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms Shalini Rajneesh has ordered officers concerned in Tumkur district to take steps to provide drinking water to the people in the district where borewells have gone dry.

Addressing a meeting of officers from several departments, including Agriculture and Revenue, at the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on Friday, Ms. Rajneesh told the officers of the Panchayat Raj engineering division to identify places where borewells have gone dry and submit a plan to provide drinking water to the people and livestock there.

She said that the State government will release funds to provide drinking water in the district after a plan is submitted.

She told the officers to immediately bring it to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner instances of tank/pond encroachment. She said that it is the responsibility of officers of the Revenue Department to get such land surveyed by an authorised surveyor.

She told the officers to ensure a distance of 300 feet between two borewells.

She asked the officers of the Agriculture Department to identify places where ragi is grown in large scale and to provide loans to farmers under the National Rural Livelihood Mission programme to establish processing units in those areas so that women will become economically empowered.

She said that the officers must work for the effective implementation of the programme.